Handbook to develop projects on remittances: Good practices to maximize the impact of remittances on development

The purpose of this handbook was to present a document designed to serve as a guide for people working to promote and strengthen the positive impact of the link between remittances, migration and development. The handbook also promotes the creation of partnerships between members of the diaspora, government stakeholders acting in the area of remittances and development, the private sector, and development organizations in civil society, including NGOs, academic institutions and foundations.

In particular, the handbook was created to achieve four objectives:

(1) Provide a conceptual framework which explains the relationship between sending money, or remittances, and economic development;
(2) Present a summary of good practices in development projects leveraging remittances, accompanied by a brief explanation of their success;
(3) Share a partnership model for carrying out development projects;
(4) Design a model for the preparation of development programmes which leverage the economic dynamics of remittances, migrant investments and migrant philanthropy.

The study is part of the project “Strengthening the dialogue and cooperation between the European Union (EU) and Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) to establish management models on migration and development policies”, implemented by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in close coordination with its partner the International and Ibero American Foundation for Administration and Public Policy (FIIAPP) and financed by the European union.

Note: The term "leveraging" refers to the act of carrying out development projects that utilize the economic impacts derived from the remittances, investment and philanthropy generated by the diaspora, for the purpose of focusing efforts on development and on creating synergies that take full advantage of these resources. This creates the necessary synergies for enhancing and capitalizing on outcomes.